A judge has tossed out the request of the Hamilton police to see the notes of an interview that Hamilton Spectator reporter Bill Dunphy conducted with a local crime figure.

An excerpt from the CP story:

Police argued Dunphy's notes on his talks with Paul Gravelle could assist them in the investigation of the 1998 murders of Ancaster, Ont., lawyer Lynn Gilbank and her husband Fred.

But Superior Court Justice Stephen Glithero -- in an written ruling released Tuesday -- tossed out the application, saying police had failed to prove that Dunphy's notes would provide any new evidence.

Dunphy and the Hamilton Spectator said the majority of material had been printed in the newspaper between 2001 and 2005.

The judge also threw out the application because he was not satisfied police had made all reasonable efforts to obtain information from Gravelle, who had on five occasions between 1999 and 2001 offered to provide information on the murder of the Gilbanks.

His offers were rejected or not believed by police.

``In my opinion, the applicant's suggestion that the notes will afford additional information relevant to the murders falls into the category of suspicion, conjecture or hypothesis and is in that sense a fishing expedition,'' Justice Glithero wrote. ``Nor am I satisfied that the alternative source of any information that does exist has been investigated and that all reasonable efforts to obtain the information have been exhausted.''

According to the story, this case is one of the first tests of a production order, which came into force in the Criminal Code back in September 2004.

A judge can compel a person not under investigation to co-operate by turning over things like documents that might be relevant to the commission of an offence. Not complying with the order could lead to a fine of $250,000 and/or six months in the hoosegow.